Reporting Center

Mikron's shareholders approve all proposals

Biel/Bienne, April 25, 2019, 6 p.m. – At this year's ordinary Annual General Meeting in Biel/Bienne, the shareholders of Mikron Holding AG approved all proposals by the Board of Directors. Among other things they agreed to a distribution from reserves from capital contributions of CHF 0.20 per share, the future remuneration of the Board of Directors and Group Management, and the Compensation Report for the past financial year.

The Annual General Meeting also approved the proposed changes to the Articles of Association with regard to remuneration payable to the Board of Directors and Group Management. The Board of Directors can now receive part of their remuneration in the form of blocked shares in the company. A long-term incentive plan is being introduced for management, which is also share-based for Group Management.

All members of the Board of Directors were reelected for a further term of one year.

Mikron significantly increases sales and profitability

Biel, March 20, 2019, 7.00 a.m. –

Both business segments in the Mikron Group were able to strengthen their market posi­tions in the year under review. The Group’s capacity utilization across all the sites im­proved steadily over the year. Both business segments had to deal with temporary supply bottlenecks in materi­als procurement. The high demand for its products meant that the Mikron Tool division reached its capacity limits.

Order intake

The Mikron Group reported order intake of CHF 362.3 million in 2018, representing an increase of 29.9% against the prior year (CHF 278.9 million). Europe (incl. Switzerland) remains Mikron’s most important market, with approximately 49% of orders received in 2018 placed by European customers (previous year: 62%). The two strongest market segments are still the pharmaceutical/medtech industries with 40% and the automotive industry contribut­ing 31% (prior year: both 31%) to the overall order intake. In North America, Mikron Auto­mation made a significant contribution to the good order intake, while Mikron Machining Solutions remained below expectations with machine orders in this market. Compared with 2017, Mikron reported similar levels of order intake in Asia, mainly from the writing instruments and automotive industries.

Net sales and order backlog

Posting annual net sales of CHF 314.7 million, the Mikron Group exceeded the prior-year result (CHF 248.5 million, +26.6%) markedly. While Mikron Machining Solutions succeeded in increasing sales by 29.2%, the Automation business segment posted an increase of 24.6%. Some sites were still not fully utilized at the beginning of 2018. However, the situation improved steadily in the course of the year overall, with most companies reporting good capacity utilization by the end of 2018. The Tools and Services areas were experiencing overload, which is resulting in long delivery times. Mikron expects demand in this area to continue and has therefore increased the relevant capacities. At CHF 195.7 million, the Mikron Group’s order backlog at the end of 2018 was 24.5% higher than the prior-year figure.

Profitability

In the 2018 business year, the Mikron Group reported a significantly improved EBIT of CHF 13.9 million (previous year: CHF 2.8 mil­lion). The EBIT profit of CHF 4.2 million (prior year: CHF -1.6 million) posted by the Machining Solutions business segment represents an improvement in profitability. The better prof­itability reflects the higher level of machine and service sales in 2018. Mikron Automation reported an im­proved EBIT of CHF 8.4 million after the prior year’s EBIT of CHF 3.1 million. The EBIT mar­gin increased to 5.4% (prior year: 2.5%).

Net earnings

Mikron’s net earnings for 2018 were CHF 12.2 million, compared to CHF 1.2 million in the prior year. Net earnings per share for the year 2018 came to CHF 0.74 (prior year: CHF 0.07). At the General Meeting on 25 April 2019, the Board of Directors of the Mikron Group will propose a distribution from capital contribu­tion reserves of CHF 0.20 per share.

Outlook

The Mikron Group started 2019 with a record order backlog, particularly at Mikron Automation. Even though the gen­eral environment remains fragile, most of Mikron’s key markets and, in partic­ular, demand for services seem robust. The Group expects order intake to normalize on a somewhat lower level, however because certain large orders won in 2018 are not expected to be repeated in 2019. Overall, Mikron Group is expecting a further rise in sales and profitability.